Chapter 7
“Uncle Dino, let’s go!”
Dominic led me through the foyer toward the living room, his hand on the small of my back, as Katrina darted past us to join the rest of her uncles. I sipped on my last serving of animal blood for the night, comfortable in my heart and lollipop-themed pajamas. They were on clearance when I purchased them; I couldn’t resist. Katrina begged me to buy her one so we could match.
Hers was in the mail.
Snacks, ice cream, and saved leftovers from our chicken dinner—the chicken for me—were displayed on the coffee table in preparation for family movie night. Katrina complained it had been too long since our last movie night, and none of us could say no to such an adorable little spitfire.
Dino was already making a dent in the popcorn. I wasn’t surprised. I laughed, shaking my head. He stared at me, shoveling another handful of popcorn into his mouth.
“I was hungry,” he whined.
“You’re always hungry,” Katrina quipped, sending all of us into laughter.
The couch and chairs were moved out of the way to make space. Dominic repeatedly let me know I could sit on the couch or in a chair, but I didn’t want to. The floor was fine. Dominic had two of my pillows and our bedroom throw blanket for me; I was all set.
Noticeably absent for family movie night was Bianca. Dominic wasn’t comfortable enough having her join us after how things went this afternoon. He wound up rearranging things, so I was to be Katrina’s babysitter for the foreseeable future, which didn’t bother me. Once I was finished crying back in his office when we talked about what I wanted to do with my role, Dominic called his mother and expressed that he needed distance to think since he was under too much pressure. She reluctantly agreed, asking him to please reach out with his decision regardless of what he chose—to forgive her and begin repairing their relationship or deciding to walk away. For good.
Katrina was a little sad that Bianca, or B to her, couldn’t come over but was excited to spend more time with me. She missed me—her words. I missed her, too and felt guilty for not spending time with her like I should’ve been. Luckily, she wasn’t the least bit upset, especially for not playing Barbies with her earlier. After everything this afternoon with Dominic, I spaced on my commitment, profusely apologizing and crying to Katrina for forgiveness. She hugged me and said she forgave me and that we didn’t always have to play with her Barbies, and she told me she loved me. I squeezed her tight after that, making her laugh by covering the top of her head with kisses.
Dominic and I walked over to our spots on the floor. He helped me onto the floor, making sure my pillows were just right and that the blanket was on me how I wanted it.
“Did you pick a movie?” Dominic asked his niece. She nodded, holding in the air what she chose: The Little Mermaid . I’d long ago lost count of how many times she’d seen the film. She loved Ariel’s red hair, even telling me Ariel’s red hair was pretty like mine. That warmed my heart.
“ The Little Mermaid !” she announced excitedly.
“Go ahead and give it to Anthony so he can put it on,” Dominic instructed.
While Anthony put the movie in the DVD player mounted on the wall directly underneath the seventy-inch-wide screen television, Katrina came over to me, Mr. Cat in her arms. She snuggled with me beneath the blanket. I fixed a few strands of her hair, smiling, proud of her for her strength and resilience after all she had been through. We were all proud of her.
“Bring the food over here,” Dominic requested of someone. I watched Dino pass Angelo the food. My eyes wandered, first over to Anthony navigating the menu screen of the movie, and then to Thomas’s urn.
His absence was like a knife to my heart, twisting itself left and right over and over. Thomas should’ve been here with us. So should’ve everyone on that mantelpiece. It wasn’t fucking fair. A part of me selfishly hoped Dominic would never replace his role as consigliere. It was too sacred. Sipping on the animal blood, I swallowed my tears, successfully fighting them off.
“Lilith?” Dominic gently called my name, bringing me into the present. When I looked at him, my plate of leftovers was in his hand. He mouthed, “Are you okay?” I nodded as he handed me my plate.
“Just thinking too much.” It wasn’t a lie, but here with everyone, especially Katrina, wasn’t the appropriate place to talk about me mourning Thomas.
Katrina tapped my shoulder. “Can I have a bite, Lulu?”
Nodding, I stuck some of my mango-marinated chicken on my fork and gave her a bite.
“Mmm!” she sounded, a fan of the taste. She devoured it at dinner like we all did. I smiled, feeding her another bite, then ate a bite of my own.
The baby kicked, enjoying it, too.
“We ready?” Dino asked us. After answering him, he turned off the lights and plopped back down on the floor, stuffing his face with potato chips. Katrina giggled at her uncle’s insatiable appetite.
Sharing a bite of my side of mashed potatoes with Katrina, she snuggled under my arm, curling up against me.
“I love you, Auntie Lulu,” she whispered. “You’re the best.”
I looked down at her, kissing her head before smiling at her hushed giggle. “I love you, too, honey, and you’re the best.”